Empyrean Iris Story Collection Vol. 3

Under Sun and Darkness

Jim Vir raised a hand to lower the brim of his hat. The sun beat down on him with a vengeance, and he pulled the collar of his work flannel up to cover the skin at the nape of his neck. His hard leathered hands gripped the reins of his horse as the old girl gently plodded along.

Jim had worked long hard days his whole life, first as a soldier during the pan Asian war, when he was just a young man, and then as a farm hand when the war was over, and for the first time in more than a century his homeworld had finally known peace. It had brought him great pleasure to help usher in a world that would be safe and inviting for his five children to grow up in, and so they had.

That was almost two decades working out under the sun and the blazing heat.

His wife bless her, insisted that he wear sunscreen or try to keep in the shade, but after years of the kind of work he had done, he knew it was a matter of when and not if he got skin cancer. He kept an eye on anything that seemed suspicious and went to the doctor at her behest every year to get himself checked out.

The other men laughed at him for his caution, but he loved his wife, and by hells breath, he would do anything for that woman, no matter how fruitless it might seem, because in the end it was never a fruitless pursuit if it would make her happy.

He patted the old horse again as she rocked and swayed beneath him.

Just a few more days and the old girl would get to retire to greener places, probably a pasture out by old Ollie's place. The thought of her spending her last days in peace and relaxation made him both happy and a little sad. He had worked with her since his first day doing work for the massive farming conglomerate , and she had been nothing if not steadfast and steady that entire rim.

So it was with this thought in mind when he felt the old mare's muscles tense underneath him, felt her feet skitter to the side and watch her head toss in agitation.

She was spooked, and she didn't spook easily.

He reached a hand down to pat her neck, looking down at the ground in search of the snake or the predator, or whatever it was that might have caught her attention, though he didn't see anything. Below him the horse nickered gently and tossed her head a few more times. He reached down to pat her neck soothing her with a soft murmur.

They were coming up on one of the corn fields.

The stalks were tall, taller than him, taller than he was even on horseback.

He gently urged the mare forward, and she took two hesitant steps before stopping dead in her tracks.

Now, Jim had been raised around horses, had known them for as long as he could remember. He knew that less patient men might grow angry or frustrated with behavior like this, try to force the animal forward with the snap of the reins or a kick to the thigh, but he knew: he knew that she was not going to take another step forward, no matter what he did.

He kicked one of his feet up from the stirrup, and over the other side, sliding gently down onto the dirt track with a soft puff of dirt. A cloud made it's way over the sun dragging a chain of shadow over the sky.

He walked around the front of the Old Mare's head and looked into her eyes.

The look he saw there ushered in a deep seated unease as the sudden darkening of the sun took on a more sinister tone. Her eyes were wide and wild rolling in their sockets as if she were gripped within the clutches of extreme panic. Her ears were back, and her entire body shook and trembled in a way he had never seen before.

Now, Jim wasn't a stupid man, and so he took her by the reins and led her back a ways, watching as she kept her head tilted to the side, watching the corn field I in front of her with that same panicked expression.